Rock conveyer ship



Nov. 28, 1950 M. R. WARD ROCK CONVEYER SHIP -5 Vsheets-sham 1 Filed Maron 14, 1947 Nov. 28, 1950 M. R. wARD 2,532,249'

Rocx coNvEgER SHIP Filed March 14, 1947 S sheets-sheet 2 Nov. 28; 1950 M. R. WARD" 2,532,249

ROCK CONVEYER SHIP Filed March 14, i4v 5 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Nov. 2S, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROCK lCONVEYER, SHIP Application March 1li, i947, Serial No.` 734,699

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates generally to vessels, such as ships, barges, colliers, and the like used for transporting loose bulk material and particularly to a self-unloading vessel which is adapted to transport the material to a selected location and then discharge its load by self-contained unloading means. While the invention may be embodied in various types of vessels, such as those referred to above, the present specification describes the material unloading means as incorporated in a construction vessel, by way oi example, such a vessel being adapted for use in constructing jetties, sea Walls, breakwaters and the like. Specifically, the invention pertains to a self-unloading ship adapted to transport relatively large rocks to a point of proposed application in the Wateri and having conveyor means so constructed and arranged as to be capable of unloading individual rocks from the boat and depositing them in the Water to erect submarine foundations or substructures. In the following specication and appended claim, the terms vessel, ship, barge and collier are used in a broad sense to designate any marine transport capable of transporting material of a loose, bulky nature.

During the building of jetties, sea walls, breakwaters and like marine structures, it is the usual practice to deposit stones or rocks upon the door of the body of water to form a foundation upon which the structure is to be erected. It is important that the rocks be deposited in an orderly and systematic manner in order to produce a firm and secure foundation or substructure upon which the larger rocks are later placed to ccmplete` the Wall-like superstructure. When the stones are dumped from a scow or similar boat in haphazard fashion it is extremely diicult, ii not impossible, to control the disposition of the stones upon the submarine floor and thus a firm foundation is not always obtained Many construction specifications require that core stone be placed above the high Water mark and it is obviour;` that under the existing method` of dumping the stones from a scow this is impossible. To erect such a structure, the rocks are dumped to form a substructure, the top of which is lapprcoiimately ten feet belowmean lower low Water, after which it is necessary to place the remainder of the rocks by means of a derrick-operated clamshell or skips. Such a method and means for placing the rocks to erect a marine substructure which projects slightly above the surface of the water have the disadvantage that they are extremely Lslow and laborious and thus result in high construction costs..

It is an object of my invention to obviate the disadvantages attendant with previous construction methodsby providing a self-unloading ship having a hopper for containing a supply or rocks.

(Cl. 21A- 15) conveyor meansmovable beneath the hopper and preterabiy extending lengthwise oi the ship, said conveyor means being adapted to transport rocks released from the hopper and to` unload them over the bow ofthe ship at. considerable distance above the water t0 cause them to be deposited in desired locations beneath or slightly above the surface of the water to erect a marine substructure which may project above the surface.

Another object is to provide a construction ship, of the character referred to, having a novel gate means for controlling the delivery of the rocks from the hopper onto the movable conveyor.

Another object is to provide a construction ship, of the type indicated, having a conveyor which is so constructed and driven that it is proof against jamming or otherwise becoming inoperative if and when a part thereof becomes broken or damaged. This is oi great importance since it enables the conveyor to complete the delivery of' all the rocks from the hopper, after which the damaged parts may be repaired or substituted therefor during the return trip of the ship to the source of supply. Thus, the operation oi the conveyoris rendered more continuous and efficient and the cost of the marine structure is reduced to a minimum.

Another object is to provide a conveyor means which consists of a series ci articulated links travelable in` an enclosed circuitous path and adapted to be moved through said path by a pushing or pulling action imparted thereto by driving means located at one end only of the conveyor system. By this improved conveyor structure, it is unnecessary to provide idler wheels for supporting the conveyor links and, since the connected links are adequately supported throughout their entire travel in a constrained path, the need for tightening devices, usually employed in conventional conveyor systems for taking up the slack in the linkage, is entirely eliminated and thus the construction of the conveyor unit is greatly simplified.

Further objects of the invention will become apparent from the following speciicatiop and the drawings, which are for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

l and 1A are side elevational views of the respective bow and stern portions of a construction. embodying the present invention;

Figs. 2` and 2A are plan views of the respective bow and stern portions of the ship;

3 is a cross-sectional view through the ship, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

4 is a cross-sectionalvievv, taken on line d--t of Fig. 2A;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View through the rock hopper of the shiptaken on line 5,--5 of Fig. 2A,

.showing the improved gate structure;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal ,sectional view, taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section, taken on line l-'l of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a part-sectional plan view of one end of the conveyor unit; and

Fig. 9 is a side View of that portion of the conveyor unit shown in Fig. 8, illustrating the driving means for moving the conveyor through its circuitous path.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my ii--- proved means for transporting rocks or the like and placing them in selected locations may be incorporated in a ship of the type herein illustrated although any type of craft suitable for carrying relatively heavy loads of rocks and capable ci being maneuvered readily may be employed. It has been determined that ships of the designated LST or L-SM types are particularly adapted for the purpose since they are capable of carrying relatively large loads of rocks, are seaworthy, have excellent maneuverability, and are economical to operate. While the drawings show such a selfunloading boat, by way of example, it is to be understood that the rock-storing and unloading means may be built into ships of other classes. As previously explained, the self-unloading conveyor means may be incorporated in ships used for transporting various loose, bulk materials such as ores, coal, metallic and non-metallic substances and other materials, the present drawings illustrating the unloading means as embodied in a form particularly adapted for unloading large, heavy objects such as construction rocks, by way of example only. As shown in Figs. 1 2, the ship lli has a relatively pointed bow il and a substantially rounded stern l 2 as indicated in Fig. 2A although it may have square ends. The ship Ill may or may not be provided with propelling engines, steering means, crew quarters, etc., these components not being herein shown in detail. As indicated more or less diau grammatica-Hy in Fig. 4, the boat has a main deck l and a third deck Il and may have a relatively flat bottom I8.

VAt its midship section, the iirst deck i5 is cut away to provide an opening dened by fore-andaft side plates i8' and girders i9 (Fig. 5) and by an end plate 2i! at its aft end (Figs. 1A and 2A). Secured to angular supporting members or beams E5 at the sides of the opening are plates 25, the upper edges of which are disposed above the main deck i5 while the lower edges are located substantially in alignment with the second deck (Fig. 4). The plates 25 converge toward their lower ends but these ends are spaced apart to provide a longitudinally extending discharge passage 3d.. Referring to Fig. 5, the plates 25 may be constructed from a series of alternate strips or planks 2li and angle irons 29 carried by the inclined beams 25 which are supported in inclined position by strut members 3l. The plates 26 cooperate with the rear plate 20 and a forward end plate (Fig. l) in providing a hopper 35 adapted to contain a supply of rocks, indicated at 36, which may be placed therein by a suitable apparatus, not shown. Gate means, to be described hereinafter, are adapted to normally close the discharge passage 34 to retain the rocks in the hopper but are operative to open the passage to permit the rocks to slide out through the. pas` sage, from. which point they are conveyed to and beyond the bow of the boat to be discharged` therefrom.

The gate means, referred to above, comprises a plurality of movable, inclined doors or gate members 49 and 4| which are located at opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the boat and which, when in closed position, form continu ations of the bottom plates 2S of the hopper the members meeting to provide a closure for the discharge passage 34 as shown by full lines in Fig. 5. rI he gate members 4!! and li may be constructed from any suitable material and, herein shown, they may comprise rectangular pan-shaped elements 42 in which wooden fillers i3 are held by sheet metal plates All.

Secured to the bottom face of each gate member lli! and 4l is a bearing bracket each carrying a pivot pin or rod 4l'. Pivotally connected to base members (L8, as by rods (l5, are substantially vertical gate-actuating arms 5i) and 5i, there being a pair of such arms provided for each of the gates lill or lll, see Fig. 6. It will thus be seen that each of the gate members la and 4l is pivotally mounted at the upper end oi its respective actuating arms 5S or 5l which, in turn, are adapted to swing on their pivot rods 4:9 in the manner indicated by dotanddash lines in Fig. 5 to move the gate members bodily in a lateral direction. The actuating arms 50 and 5| may be pivoted by any suitable power means, for example, by hydraulic actuating jacks 53 having their piston rods 54 connected to the arms by pins 55 as shown in Fig. 5. The cylinders of the jacks 53 may be pivoted to the struts 3l or any other part of the framework of the boat and the pistons oi the jacks may be operated selectively in either direction by hydraulic fluid introduced into the cylinders through lines 5S and 51, the now of fluid being controlled by selector valves, not shown.

The upper ends of the gate members 40 and 4I underlie the lower ends of the plates 26 and have rollers 58 engaging thereagainst so that pivotal movement of the gate members in response to the weight of the rocks applied against their lower adjoining ends is prevented. During the swinging movement of the arms 50 and 5| in a direction to open the discharge passage 34, the gate members All! and 4l are moved bodily in an arcuate path but during this movement they are maintained in the same angle of inclination as when in fully closed position by reason of their rollers 53 which roll along curved cam-guides 59 and 60 secured to the framework (Fig. 5). It will be apparent from the foregoing description of the gate members and their actuating means that the gate members may be moved either singly or simultaneously by merely manipulating the hydraulic selector valves. By this provision the lowering of relatively large rocks through the discharge passage 34 may be controlled with great ease. That is to say, it has been found advantageous when discharging a large rock from the hopper 35 to lower one side of the rock at a time so that the rock will not fall violently upon the conveyor which is continuously moving beneath the hopper. By mounting the gate members lll and il! on the pivoted actuating arms 50 and 5l, instead of on slide members, less power is required to actuate the gate members and this is due to the mechanical advantage derived through the use of the leverage herein disclosed. Since the gate members 4! and 4l are maintained at a substantially fixed angle, none of the advantages of sliding gates or doors are sacriced. It is within the concept of this invention to provide a hopper whose discharge passage is opened and closed by means of a single gate member of the type herein disclosed. In other cases, the hopper may have a plurality of discharge passages, each controlled by asimilar gate member, the particular construction` of the hopper and arrangement of gates depending to a large extent upon the nature of the material to be transported and handled.

As shown` in Figs. 1, 1A and 6, the gate members 4|] and` 4l are arranged in side-to-side relation throughout the entire length of the hopper so that rocks may be discharged from any part of the hopper. However, it is necessary to effect the discharge of rocks from the forward part of the hopper 35 before rocks are released from aft portions thereof because if a rock deposited on the moving conveyor should encounter a rock being lowered through the discharge passage 34, such collision would undoubtedly result in damage to the gates and the conveyor. To prevent such a condition, I provide a iiange or lip 62 at one edge of each gate member or 4l (Figs. 6 and 7), these lips being adapted to overlie the rearward edge of the adjacent or next forward gate member of the series. By this means, the gate members are permitted to be opened only in succession, starting from the forward end successively toward the rearward end of the hopper 35 and` thus it is impossible to cause damage to the gate mechanism or conveyor means due to jamming of the rocks.

The conveyor unit, indicated generally at 10, is installed on the third deck beneath the hopper 35, as shown in Fig. 4. The unit lll includes pairs of standards H spaced longitudinally of the ship beneath the hopper 35 and supporting beams l2 at their upper ends. Longitudinal tracks 'I3 are carried by the beams 12 and spaced laterally from the tracks and supported by the beams are Z-shaped guiding members 'M Arranged on the deck floor and extending longitudinally of the ship beneath the tracks 13 are lower angular tracks 15.

The conveyor unit also includes an articulated linkage which, as shown best in Figs. 5, 6, 8 and 9, comprises a plurality of pan-like conveyor elements St having apertured bearing ears Si at their opposite ends for receiving hinge-pins t2, each hingemin being inserted through the ears of adjacent elements to form an endless eonveyor. The hinge-pins Si form axles upon which wheels or rollers et are rotatably mounted, the rollers being adapted to roll upon the tracks 73 and l5. Each conveyor element t is of holiow form adapted to receive wooden blocks or illers i upon which the rocks are supported and which act to absorb the shock of the rocks as they are discharged onto the conveyor from the hopper 35.

The link conveyor comprising the connected elements BQ, is travelable in a closed circuitous path lengthwise oi the ship, this path being indicated by the dotted line in l and 1A. it will be noted that this path extends upwardly and forwardly beyond the conventional bow i! of the ship, an extension 9@ being added to the bow for this purpose. The conveyor tracks i3 and l5, together with th guiding members l@ extend substantially horizontal beneath the hopper 35 but forwardly of the hopper they are inclined upwardly to connect with a semicircular guido El mounted at the extremity oi the bow extension 99. Thus, the forward end of the closed circuitous path. is donned by the guide t! which reverses the travel of the conveyor linkage. Since the upper portion of the conveyor travels forwardly and the lower portion moves rearwardly or aft, recits discharged from the hopper 35 and received upon the upper part of the conveyor will be carried forwardly and upwardly thereby and as the direction of travel of the conveyor is reversed at the guide 94, the rocks will fall off the` conveyor and drop into the water to be deposited on the iioor of the body oi water to erect a substructure, the top of which may be disposed above the surface of the water. Forwardly of the hopper 35 and extending paral lel to the conveyor unit are guide members 92 and d3 (Figs. i and 3) which forro., with the conveyor, a trough through which the rocks move during their travel toward the delivery point at the bow of the ship.

Rotatable in suitable bearing members rearwardly or aft of the hopper is a transverse shaft 95 which cai-ries a pair of wheels d5. The conveyor linkage is looped around the wheels and the latter have oircuniferentially-spaced notches el adapted to i ive the projecting ends of the hinge-pins 82. lt is thus apparent that when the shaft is rotated, the wheels 95 will act to nieve the conveyor through its circuitous path, it being noted that the conveyor .is driven only at one end of the system, that is, by the wheels and the conveyor is supported thi' ighout its travel by the track T3 and l5 and uifle Si alongwhich the rollers 915 travel. los seen that the sides of the conveyor are completely enclosed throughout the entire path travel and it is to be particularly observed that the usual idler wheels, commonly employed in conveyor systems, are dispersed with and the construction greatly simplified. It is also tobe noted that, due to fact that the conveyor linkage moves in a constrained path, no slacktightening means is required. In other words, in the present improved construction, the entire conveyor unit has only one pair of sprocket wheels, that is, the driving wheels 93. While the wheels .96 may be located at either the fore or aft end or" the conveyor unit to pull or push the individual links, they may be more advantageously applied to use in the manner illustrated in the drawings. It is well known that if when large, heavy objects, such as rocks, are to be conveyed by a conventional system if a single link should fracture, the entire conveyor unit becomes inoperative. When such a condition exists, the damaged link must ybe repaired or re placed immediately and the ends of the conveyor linkage joined together and this requires considerable time and the use of special repair equipment. Such diiiioulty is avoided in the present invention by arranging the conveyor linkage to move in a constrained path as defined by the various tracks and guides previously described, the conveyor elements Sii passing over a single pair of driving wheels. Because the conveyor unit travels in a constrained path, if one of the conveyor links or eenienis Eil becomes damaged, due to the impact of a heavy rock released from the hopper or from other causes, the fractured conveyor element may continue to be pushed forwardly by the driving wheels 9S acting: on the succeeding conveyor elements of the series. In other words, the elements dit will continue to be moved forwardly and around the semicircular guide Si at the extreme bow of the ship to unload the entire hopper t5, after which the conveyor unit can be brought to rest and the fractured elements repaired or removed. The various tracks and guides may be made in sections which may be removed to facilitate removal or repair of damaged conveyor elements, if desired.

Adjacent the driving wheels the conveyor elements 8f3 are adequately guided and supported by the track li, which has an arcuate extension lil arranged concentric with the axis of wheels. The Z-shaped guiding members are also continued around the periphery of the wheels 95 to retain the hinge-pins d2 in the notches Si.

The tracks 13, guiding members i4, guide 9| and track extension lll form, in effect, a pair of channels or raceways in which the rollers 85 of the conveyor travel in their constrained path of movement. The rollers are thus guided entirely by the channels and, as before explained, the need for idler wheels and take-up means for tensioning the conveyor linkage is avoided. Since the conveyor is supported entirely by the channels, it will be apparent that the channels may be made and assembled in different ways to cause the conveyor linkage to move in curved, angular and other irregular, closed, circuitous paths. By this provision, the conveyor may be readily installed in areas where obstructions would prevent the installation of conventional conveyors. This is of particular advantage in ships where the bottom of the material hopper is located at a considerable distance below the main deck and it is desirable to transport the material to a point above the main deck, as in the boat illustrated in the drawings.

The shaft 95 may be driven by any suitable means, Figs. 1A and 2A of the present drawings showing an electric motor m2 for this purpose. The motor |02 drives a countershaft H33 by means of speed reduction gearing IM and chains m5 and the countershaft has small sprockets HB6 which drive large sprockets l'l, carried at the ends of the shaft Q5, by means of chains lli). Electric power for operating the motor m2 may be derived from a Diesel-operated generator ill shown in Fig. 1A.

The method of operating the rock unloading means should be apparent from the foregoing and thus a detailed explanation will be dispensed with. Suffice it to say, that the hop-per of the ship may be loaded at a pier by means of any suitable loading equipment, such as a conveyor unit and following such loading, the ship may be propelled by its engines to the site where the proposed sea wall, jetty or other marine structure is to be built. After the extension 99 of the bow of the ship has been located above the point at which the substructure is to be constructed, the conveyor unit l@ is started by energizing the electric motor M2. The articulated conveyor elements all thus are propelled forwardly beneath the hopper 35 and toward the bow of the ship and, after turning at the guide 9|, their direction of travel is reversed. To unload rocks from the hopper 35 and deposit them on the floor of the body of water, the foremost gate members 4i! and lll, that is the pair of hopper gates located closest the bow of the ship, are opened to permit discharge of some of the rocks onto the moving conveyor. As previously eX- plained, the gate members 4l) and AI may be manipulated by the simple act of operating a hydraulic valve and may be actuated singly or simultaneously in a manner to lower the rocks gradually onto the conveyor. Rocks deposited upon the conveyor unit lo are thus carried forwardly and upwardly and as the elements 80 reverse their direction of travel at the curved guide 9|, the rocks fall from the conveyor either into the water to descend to the selected point of application or onto rocks previously placed so that the substructure will project above the surface of the water. After the rocks have been unloaded from the foremost section of the hopper 35, the next rearward pair of gate members 4D and 4I is opened in a like manner to release rocks from this portion of the hopper. The opening of succeeding gate members is continued until the rocks in the sternmost section of the hopper have been unloaded. During the unloading of the hopper, the ship is maneuvered in the water to locate its bow extension Sil directly over areas in which the rocks are to be deposited. It is apparent from the above that my self-unloading ship thus greatly eXpedites the building of the substructures of marine walls and the like. After the complete supply of rocks has been unloaded, the ship is returned to the original source for another load and the above operations repeated.

While the present ship is herein shown and described as provided with a conveyor which is adapted to unload rocks and the like over the bow of the ship, the conveyor unit may be arranged to unload material over the stern or sides of the boat, within the concept of my invention. it is apparent that the unloading means may be installed in vessels other than construction ships for unloading ores and other loose bulk materials. When used for such purposes, the conveyor elements im may be made in the form of pans for receiving and conveying the material. It will be observed from the foregoing specification that the invention embodies a novel gate mechanism which is so constructed and arranged as to enable large, heavy objects to be lowered gradually onto the conveyor. As another important feature, the invention provides a conveyor system in which the conveyor links or elements are moved in a constrained path by driving means which may be arranged to push or pull the elements around the closed, circuitous path. Since the conveyor unit is supported entirely by guiding means which defines the closed path, the usual idler wheels and take-up means are eliminated and the structure thus greatly simplified.

While I have herein shown and described the self-unloading boat as embodied in a preferred form of construction, by way of example, it will be apparent that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Consequently, I do not wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein disclosed but desire to be afforded the full scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

Means for transporting and placing rocks and the like, comprising: a boat having a bow and stern; a hopper in said boat for containing a supply of rocks or the like, said hopper having a discharge passage in its bottom; conveyor means movable beneath said hopper lengthwise within said boat and beyond the bow thereof, said conveyor means being adapted to receive the rocks delivered from said hopper through said passage and to discharge them over the bow of said boat; a series of movable gate members spaced longitudinally of said hopper for closing and opening successive portions of said discharge passage, said gate members having means engageable with an adjacent gate member of the series and operative to restrain successive gate members from movement to open position prior to the opening of a preceding gate member; and power means for 9 moving said gate members individually to open Number and closed positions. 850,683 MONTAGUE R. WARD. 974,104 1,360,805 REFERENCES CITED 5 1,682,958 The following references are of record in the 118291182 le of this patent: Number Name Date l0 2,045,957 392,562 Huntington Nov. 6, 1888 2,136,363 475,888 Paul May 31, 1892 2,240,350 625,086 Conley May 16, 1899 2,278,730 638,145 Rose Nov. 28, 1899 10 l Name Date Smulders Apr. 16, 1907 Doxford Oct. 25, 1910 Sherman et al. Nov. 30, 1920 Geddes Sept. 4, 1928 Beaumont Oct. 2'7, 1931 Mambourg Nov. 10, 1931 Le Tourneau Mar. 22, 1932 Bradley Mar. 14, 1933 Loose June 30, 1936 Hume et al Nov. 15, 1938 Ross Apr. 29, 1941 Neuman Apr. '7, 1942 

